Time no object training plan to increase fitness/speed quickly

[Mr_K_Dilkington]

So I'm fairly new to cycling and looking to get faster and improve my endurance in as short a time as possible. I'd like advice on what training would be good to do to achieve this goal.

A little background on me - I'm 27, male, 6'1", 11.5 stone (pretty skinny) and have been riding only for a couple of months, although my fitness is at a reasonable level already (I can hold 17-18mph or so consistently over fair distances and have done some 60 and 80+ mile rides through hilly terrain). So far I have just been doing 80-100 miles a week commuting plus some longer rides at the weekend - typically around 60-100 miles at the weekends split over 2 rides.

I commute to work 5 days a week (10 miles there, 10 miles back from West London to Central London every day) so training needs to fit around that. Otherwise I am very free in the evenings and weekends to train as much and as hard as I like owing to very few concrete time commitments.

What should I be doing with my free time to up my endurance and speed if time is no object? Does anyone have some decent intensive training plans which could fit in well with my commute? I basically want the most dedicated training program to get my fitness up rapidly (without burning me out of course).

One equipment question as well - would getting a turbo trainer be a worthwhile investment considering I find it difficult at times to find traffic/traffic light free roads I can ride at consistent intensity on or do interval sprints on (unless I want to do laps of Richmond Park for eternity)?

 

[Soup890]

I'm in the same boat. It will be interesting to hear people's response to this post.

When I upgraded my bike from a £150 made in China bike to a £600 Spesh hybrid bike my speed increased and my time was cut from 1hour 30min to 39min commute (11 miles there and back)

But I constantly get overtaken by people on road bikes when I'm averaging a speed of 17mph on a flat.

 

[Rob3rt]

So I'm fairly new to cycling and looking to get faster and improve my endurance in as short a time as possible. I'd like advice on what training would be good to do to achieve this goal.

A little background on me - I'm 27, male, 6'1", 11.5 stone (pretty skinny) and have been riding only for a couple of months, although my fitness is at a reasonable level already (I can hold 17-18mph or so consistently over fair distances and have done some 60 and 80+ mile rides through hilly terrain). So far I have just been doing 80-100 miles a week commuting plus some longer rides at the weekend - typically around 60-100 miles at the weekends split over 2 rides.

I commute to work 5 days a week (10 miles there, 10 miles back from West London to Central London every day) so training needs to fit around that. Otherwise I am very free in the evenings and weekends to train as much and as hard as I like owing to very few concrete time commitments.

What should I be doing with my free time to up my endurance and speed if time is no object? Does anyone have some decent intensive training plans which could fit in well with my commute? I basically want the most dedicated training program to get my fitness up rapidly (without burning me out of course).

One equipment question as well - would getting a turbo trainer be a worthwhile investment considering I find it difficult at times to find traffic/traffic light free roads I can ride at consistent intensity on or do interval sprints on (unless I want to do laps of Richmond Park for eternity)?

See the two bolded bits? These are not compatible!

Your goal is very much the same as many people new to cycling and full of enthusiasm, you want it all and you want it now. However, you probably do not yet have the physical robustness to undertake an intensive training plan.

As for "I basically want the most dedicated training program", you would need to hire a coach if you want a dedicated personal training plan.

About turbo trainers, yes they are worthwhile, if you use it! Mine is my most important piece of training equipment and I ride it ~6 hours a week or more, if it broke down, I would buy another one before the day was out!

 

[Joshua Plumtree]

Depends what your goals are. Speed and endurance are not necessarily compatible. If getting faster was just a matter of riding yer bike for long periods, then Miss Marple would be right up there.

First of all, don't worry about any high intensity training for at least the next 2 or 3 months. Just ride your bike as often and as fast and for as long as you can (think that's covered all the bases!)

Then, add in some interval sprints to your training, 10-20 secs maybe and then some longer intervals of 45-90 secs. If you want to go faster for longer then add 3 minute intervals, hills are great for this or going as fast as you're able on the flat for 3 mins at a time is also good.

Richmond Park sounds great for this - much more fun than sat on a ruddy turbo trainer

Once you feel ready, how about trying a one lap blast around the Park. Set a target time to beat and keep coming back to try to beat it. As you get more speed endurance in yer legs, make it two laps around the Park, then three and so on.

Come the late autumn, then think about buying that dreaded turbo

I

 

[Mr_K_Dilkington]

See the two bolded bits? These are not compatible!

Your goal is very much the same as many people new to cycling and full of enthusiasm, you want it all and you want it now. However, you probably do not yet have the physical robustness to undertake an intensive training plan.

As for "I basically want the most dedicated training program", you would need to hire a coach if you want a dedicated personal training plan.

Sorry, should have made clear that I realise that I can't do the most intensive training program (I'm not going to try and do the training program of a pro!), but the most intensive training program the someone of my level of experience/fitness can reasonably do. I just wanted to see if there is some kind of structure that I can place around my commuting which will give me the quickest boost to my fitness.

 

[Rob3rt]

How long have you been cycling REGULARLY?

 

[Mr_K_Dilkington]

How long have you been cycling REGULARLY?

2 and a half to 3 months.

 

[Rob3rt]

2 and a half to 3 months.

Then ultimately, the biggest gains in sustainable speed are going to come from simply riding your bike regularly and possibly increasing the volume depending on how much riding do you currently do?

 

[Mr_K_Dilkington]

Then ultimately, the biggest gains in sustainable speed are going to come from simply riding your bike regularly and possibly increasing the volume depending on how much riding do you currently do?

Typically doing 160 miles a week or thereabouts. 80-100 miles of commuting in traffic and then the rest of long rides in the country or doing laps of Richmond Park. Would doing a fair bit more along with maybe some interval training be ok? At present with the amount of riding I do, I'm not feeling fatigued and not getting really sore from rides at all (aside from maybe a little the next day after a 60-80 mile ride).

 

[vickster]

How about joining a club, will be pushed more than if only riding alone. Evening and weekend rides accessible, lots west of London. Social aspect too, if time rich presumably no major family commitments

 

[Joshua Plumtree]

If you're doing that amount of miles then, by about June time, can't see why you wouldn't benefit from some higher intensity intervals, especially as you're only 27 - half my age, damn and blast!

 

[pjm]

The classic programme to train for a specific event is to put in lots of low intensity 'base' miles - a couple of short rides a week and a couple of long ones - over several weeks, building up the mileage as you go. This is as much as anything getting your body used to training; it will improve your fitness but not by leaps and bounds. Then a few weeks before the event, you put in a couple of seriously, seriously brutal sessions a week, and keep up the long gentle ones. The idea is that the easy sessions are easy, and the hard sessions are flat-out and leave you in pieces. If you hadn't put in the base miles, you'd not be able to recover quickly from the tough sessions. The hard sessions will bring on your fitness massively, but if you aren't physically prepared for them, they will get the better of you..
Now of course this is aiming to peak for a specific event, and training flat-out like that isn't sustainable. You're looking to improve and maintain fitness, and per the OP you're also looking to improve 2 slightly different things - speed and endurance. If you're already doing (at least) 10 miles twice a day, 5 times a week, you're doing pretty well for base mileage already, especially if you are new to riding. The suggestions I would have are:

Add a long ride once a week. One 3-hr ride will do more for your endurance than adding 40 mins every day to your commute. Don't make this ride too hard - its about being in the saddle for a reasonable amount of time. If it leaves you knackered for your commute the next day and you have to ride a lot slower than you usually would, you're getting nothing fitness-wise out of the commute.
You can add some intervals to your commute. You asked for training advice not safety advice, but obviously going flat out in heavy traffic is a bad idea. I've made this mistake in the past and I am grateful that I've not had to learn the hard way to be more sensible. But anyway, back to intervals; remember first, if you do too much, it will get the better of you. A short hard session once or twice a week is better than trying to knacker yourself every day.
You can do some structured intervals in Richmond Park. One I like is between Roehampton and Robin Hood along the flat section: ride hard in one direction, easy back. If you can do this more than 3 times, you aren't going hard enough on the fast leg. Next week try to do both ways hard, then one way easy, and repeat. This is arguably easier because your both-ways pace is going to be a good deal slower than your one-way pace from the previous. Next week break each direction into 4 sections and alternatively go hard, easy, etc. This is probably the hardest because you can really go flat out for that short section. The idea is you are building different types of fitness - fast for 10 seconds, but able to maintain a hard pace for 10 mins too.
Right or wrong, the Embankment westbound at going-home time gets a bit competitive. If that is your route home, there is a good segregated bike lane from Lambeth Bridge to Battersea bridge where there is often an opportunity to get up some reasonable speed. Again - better for your fitness and your safety to push harder on that section, then take it easier on the Battersea bridge to Chelsea bridge section where there isn't a bike lane, than try to go at moderate pace for the whole route.

One other thing if you are new to riding - spend some time thinking about your pedalling technique too. I assume you are using clip-in shoes - try riding with one leg for a bit, it will probably feel awful because, like most of us, you'll find it natural to mostly push down on the pedal in the 3 o clock position rather than spinning them in a circle. Riding with 1 leg is a great way to force yourself to learn smoothness. As you get better, try spinning a higher cadence. this is harder to do smoothly, but you can see most pros spin over 100rpm which, if you can do it, takes some of the strain off your legs.